Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Some Names From TDC

Old friend Larry Marcum was the Administrative Officer at TDC during my tour (current photo shown here). He dug through his memory bank and came up with names of some of the folks who were assigned there during his tour:

5 comments:

one name that i remmeber was my math tutor. i believe his first name was Jim and his wife was my math teacher at the Dominican school and her name was Carol. This would have been between 70-73 maybe. he was A F and a capt i think. sorry, military confused me at that time as the civ and military worlds there were so stratified. did anybody know him? I know it's a long shot. I def remember Baumberger...

my math tutor was a a f capt i think named Jim? Davis and his wife was my teacher at Dominican School . This must have been @ 70-72. Her name was Carol . I also def remember Baumberger! Another person I remmeber was Walter Mconaghey (sp) who was the American Ambassador.

I remember a number of these names. One in particular whom I got to know pretty well was Col Bruce Ferrier, the J-1. He and his wife, who taught one of my sons at Dominican School, were two of the nicest people you'd ever be privileged to meet. But I did feel sorry for him; it was his office's unhappy duty to plan each of the successive 50% cuts in US military strength on island, which the Carter administration ordered. The early cuts, when there were thousands of military still in Taiwan, were probably easier. The last couple, when remaining units had already been cut to the bone, were very difficult.

Enter any term to search for posts at this site.

Final Flag Retreat Ceremony

Overview

The United States Taiwan Defense Command was a sub-unified command which reported directly to the Commander-in-Chief Pacific (CINCPAC). The command was composed of personnel from all branches of the U.S. armed forces and had its headquarters in Taipei.

Operational since November 1, 1955, USTDC was a planning headquarters for the defense of Taiwan and the Pescadores. In the event of hostilities, the Commander, USTDC, would have assumed an operational role and coordinated with the Government of the Republic of China in the defense of Taiwan and the Pescadores. In the event of such a contingency, three existing service commanders would have reported to the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command commander. The 327th Air Division commander would be the air component commander, the Taiwan Patrol Force commander would be the naval component commander, and the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) would be the Army component commander.

In addition to planning and peacetime responsibilities, the Commander of USTDC was assigned as the Single Senior Military Representative of Commander-in-Chief Pacific (CINCPAC). As such, he served as CINCPAC's single military spokesman on Taiwan -- exclusive of the miliitary assistance program -- and assumed responsibility for coordinating administrative and other policy matters for all U.S. armed forces on Taiwan on behalf of CINCPAC.After twenty-three years, five months and twenty-six days of operation, the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command held its final flag retreat ceremony during the afternoon of April 26, 1979. Marine SSG D. J. Gemmecke lowered the colors for the last time.

Rear Admiral James P. Linder, the last USTDC Commander, departed Taiwan on April 28, 1979, accompanied by his wife Patricia.

Today there is no trace of the large American military compound on Chung Shan North Road in which USTDC was located. The area now contains a modern art museum, a park and a large sports stadium.

I am not a historian, but I do recognize that history unrecorded is history lost. My objective here is simply to record some of my own experiences as an Air Force enlisted man during my assignment to USTDC from 10 June 1973 until 4 September 1974, and to provide a platform for others to do the same.

Feel free to comment on any of these entries or to e-mail me with your own experiences and photographs. My e-mail address is displayed at the top and bottom of this column, or you can comment on any of my entries by clicking on "Comments" directly under each one.